The present invention relates to fitted fabric sheets for mattresses for use in infant cribs that have vertical side rails that extend above the mattress and keep the infant confined within the crib.
The fitted sheet of the invention is particularly useful in conjunction with a protective padded crib bumper that extends along the inside periphery of the crib side and end rails, and rests on the mattress to prevent the infant from bumping against the hard wood or metal rails that form the crib. Commercially available bumpers are ordinarily formed of elongated members, e.g. padded or of foam, secured end to end and arranged in a rectangle within the rails of the crib. Such bumpers are conventionally held in place by strings that extend from the bumper members and are tied to the side rails and occasionally to the head and foot boards or head and foot rails of the crib. The bumpers often are not very securely attached to the crib, and futhermore leave a gap between the bumper and mattress. Infants can therefore slip their limbs or head underneath the bumper and between adjacent rails. Such activity may injure the arms or legs of an infant, and could result in asphyxiation of the infant.
Addressing these problems, Doyle U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,824 describes a crib bumper with elongated members secured to a sheet that extends loosely between the lower edges of bumper. The sheet is preferably positioned beneath the mattress with its marginal areas adjacent to the bumper. In a further embodiment, each bumper element has its own sheet secured to the lower edge of the bumper and folded back on itself between the mattress and the side rails of the crib so as to form a pocket.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a novel fitted sheet for a mattress for a crib that eliminates the difficulties and dangers noted above by cooperating in such a way with a crib bumper to prevent an infant from inserting its limbs or head between the bumper and mattress.